Friday, 28 August 2015

Still here? We are, still surrounded by decorators and contractors of various kind but not everyday... And more and more rooms are ticked off the list... And the number of boxes has declined sharply, which is nice.

I'm still missing the one with all the charges (currently dead laptops are us) and the ones with the chopping boards and my steaming pan.

Weird.

On the plus side we have now have a functioning telephone line AND wifi. No 1, who had begun shrivelling up and dieing, is slowing springing back to life. I might even manage to blog more... There are so many things to catch up on!

On the down side I was so late in getting school stuff organised that afore mentioned child, who was inconsiderable enough to grow again during the summer, will most likely start school in his pyjamas. Either not enough trousers for skinny/tall 14yr olds were made or everybody else is suddenly the same size as he is, which is frankly quite a freaky thought. Imagine being surrounded by a whole population of perennially hungry, lanky, teenagers whose voice is deeper than Barry White's and whose sarcastic language is mostly incomprehensible, slothing around from chair to chair...

Shudder.

This me during a rare moment of calm, kicked out of the kitchen, and surreptitiously crochetin a few rows of No 2 bath mat. He's doing it himself which I think it's awesome... But was away for a few days and I hoped it wouldn't mind. (Also... Don't mention that he's doing it... Apparently it won't do if the captain of the school rugby team is found crocheting on his days off...)

Anyway, I must go and shower before the plumber comes in to sort out the bath... (Wishful thinking...)

Saturday, 04 July 2015

We're still trying to get the house ready... the workers have finally started and I've never been happier to see total mess and destruction.

This was the before:

I love that light. I still pinch myself when I see images like this? My home? Really? Get out!

Anyway, whilst lots of people work on the inside I have been tending the garden. Yes, hilarious as it may sound (Ali? stop it) I have been pruning roses. Just to keep things in perspective I don't 'do' gardening. I love gardens and flowers, I admire people who know about flowers and plants... but I don't 'do' it. I'm more the 'sit in the garden with a book' type person that the 'I need to weed' person. Some weeds are pretty anyway. Just saying.

Well it seems that sometimes duty call and you have to answer. Armed with advise from the RHS I pruned roses for 1 and 1/2 hours. (And still didn't finish - the previous owners LOVED roses people.. sigh). How well I did it, remains to be seen...

(No, I didn't enjoy it. But I didn't hate it either)

To be fair I quite like cutting the grass but apparently my 'lines' are not straight enough.

We've booked (Royal 'we', I booked) a date for the removal company. Gulp. It's looming and between now and then we're going on an ill-timed holiday for ten days. We booked it way before buying the house... but it feels a bit wrong.

So in between sports days and swimming galas, concerts and speech days, whilst trying to squeeze normal life into the gaps left by the new house demands... I'm doing this:

But you know what? I love this part. I cleanse. I purge. I reminisce. I take more trips to the charity shop than the supermarket. Ask the boys. They will confirm it. They keep threatening to call the NSPCC.

Today it's Saturday and the normal packing schedule will be disturbed by real life: archery for one, physio and a party for another, haircut for the remaining two. Some holiday shopping (apparently last year's swimsuits don't fit no more... which means they must get fed sometimes right?).

Monday, 22 June 2015

We're making progress on the house front, we're really are, but there are so so many decision to make all the time, at the same time that some evening I feel like my brain is the consistency of cheesy mash potatoes. There are moment that I would probably struggle to remember my name if somebody asked me.

Because you see... 'life' doesn't wait. Normal life doesn't wait for you to decide on paint colour, or handles, or light switches, or flooring or radiator covers or furniture or this sink instead of that sink.

Kids still need to wear clean clothes and they demand food all the time and the dog needs a walk, and bed don't make themselves. Weirdly.

So... I feel a little bamboozled. A lot actually.

This morning I learnt a lot about chimney sweeping. I probably should have told the sweet chap who came to clean ours that I wasn't really all that interested in taking up the profession... but I just couldn't. I'm sure that with the right equipment I could probably do it now. Oh well.

Anyway, back to lighting.

Yesterday I drove, - in the sun, under a perfect blue sky, makes a change - to Ross-on-Wye because I this old chandelier belonging to my grandmother had been sitting in my garage for years and finally I'd found someone who could fix it.

Result. Another item off the list from hell.

BUT then I also found that this great company (FRITZ FRYER) also makes gorgeous lights which they will be perfect to light up the top of the island in the new kitchen, and some for the boys' den, and some for the entrance hall...

Thursday, 07 May 2015

You all know we bought a new house. A new 'old' house - 1826 to be exact - which now gives me the excuse of boring you to death for months with talks of 50 shades of white and carpets v. wood flooring, kitchen chairs and wardrobes.... oh yes... I'd leave now if I were you.

The house is in perfect order but it's not perfect for us. The kitchen is quite new but it's not me... and given that this house is IT, till we're too old to walk up the stairs and need a bungalow and a cat at least, I need the kitchen to be ME. So I've been living in a Pinterest infested world for the past few weeks and I've come to a decision:

I'm going with these people. I love their clean sense of aesthetic, their colour palette, use of material and traditional skills. You simply can't go wrong with a Shaker kitchen, right?

Dark cabinets...

light counter tops... brass handles (although the jury is still out on this detail).

A big island. Oh yes, a big island.

Sigh.

I can't wait.

It'll take months.. but I feel we're moving forward.

(Incidentally if you want to buy a 'new' kitchen, traditional style, with a large island and granite countertops, just drop me an email... )

Tuesday, 02 December 2014

If you want proof that children are creatures of habit just mention 'advent calendars' to my children. Once they've experienced a homemade one... they're hooked, and smirk at the little cardboard ones with Disney characters and small morcels of 'chocolate' (they're chocolate snobs too)... they expect one every year... they're basically calendar snobs.

Sigh.

This year, IKEA came to the rescue with their cute Christmas themed paper bags (cute and socially responsible, that's me!)...

The boys are happy. Their dentist is delirious.

Then we come to the husband. Normally he gets beer. Indepently brewed/small breweries beer.

... and one wouldn't want to disappoint one's husband now, right? Also, it's really fun to choose beer solely by the prettiness of the name or the design of the labels. (I don't drink the stuff, can you tell?)

Normally I get to watch. Basking in the morning happiness of the boys high on chocolate and trinkets and in the evening glow of Mr M's golden beers.

BUT.

This year I have one of my own!!!

Mr M made it. And it's beautiful.

And it's full of lovely chocolate and make up (call me shallow... I think it's fab!!)

Friday, 24 October 2014

I look around me in my little room (I pretentiously call it studio... But it's a little long room) and it's crammed full of stuff. Fabric, yarn, books and notions. Two sewing machines. Bits and bobs.

Too much stuff.

Too many unfulfilled plans and ideas... Too many things kept 'just in case' and 'one day I will'

So, use it or lose it.

Take this absolutely gorgeous piece of Nani Iro linen... I have a vague feeling that Mr M bought it during a trip to New York way back then, before Purl moved to their current location. It languished abandoned and bereft on my shelf all these years, squashed between a vintage sheet and a 'one day I'll make a Tova out of this' something or other.

Too small for a quilt, the pattern design to large for zippered pouches. I have a ton and a half of tote bags and although I toyed with the idea of a knitting needles roll, I like my needles in a big jar...

So it ended up a table runner, random checks quilting and a gorgeous Amy Butler 'love' on the back. All from the stash.

All in a day's work, whilst no 3 enjoyed his Fifa15 and Lilli the ferocious dog barked at squirrels. (Our neighbours love us, NOT).

Aren't just perfect for Autumn.? Yes, of course I always match my crockery to the season... ahem... not...

According to the Arabia's website this pattern 'OTSO' was manufactured between 1971 and 1985. I'm very relieved it's not old (I'm older, therefore it's definitively not old), I can use the lot without holding my breath everytime I pick something up.